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PrintFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
School Health Guidelines to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) is pleased to announce the release of the School Health Guidelines to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (Guidelines). This new resource updates and combines previous guidelines last published in the 1990s. Schools play a critical role in improving the dietary and physical activity behaviors of students and the critical health outcomes and diseases they influence, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Developed in collaboration with nutrition and physical activity experts across the nation, the Guidelines identify the most effective policies and practices schools can implement to help young people adopt and maintain healthy eating habits and a physically active lifestyle. CDC synthesized research and best practices related to promoting healthy eating and physical activity in schools, culminating in nine guidelines. These guidelines were informed by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, and the Healthy People 2020 objectives related to healthy eating and physical activity among children and adolescents (including associated school objectives).
Collectively, the nine guidelines serve as the foundation for developing, implementing, and evaluating school-based healthy eating and physical activity policies and practices for students.
Individually, they emphasize and address:
- Coordination in developing, implementing, and evaluating healthy eating and physical activity policies and practices.
- School environments that support healthy eating and physical activity.
Healthy food choices at school. - Comprehensive physical activity programs with quality physical education.
- Health education that provides students with the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and experiences they need for healthy eating and physical activity.
- Health, mental health, and social services to address healthy eating, physical activity, and related chronic disease prevention.
- Partnering with families and community members to develop and implement healthy eating and physical activity policies, practices, and programs.
- Providing a school employee wellness program that includes healthy eating and physical activity services.
- Employing qualified individuals, and providing professional development opportunities for staff working in school health-related positions.
Each of the guidelines is accompanied by a set of strategies that can help schools work toward achieving each guideline. Although the ultimate goal is to implement all nine guidelines, not every strategy will be appropriate for every school, and some schools, due to resource limitations, might need to implement the guidelines incrementally.
This new release also includes an Executive Summary and more resources to help promote and implement the guidelines will be available on the DASH Web site in October.
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Contact:
Sarah Lee, PhD
SKeupLee@cdc.gov
770-488-6126
This press release is from AAHE
The vision of AAHPERD is "Healthy People – Physically Educated and Physically Active!" Headquartered in Reston, VA, 25 miles west of Washington, DC, AAHPERD is the largest organization of professionals involved in physical education, physical activity, dance, school health and sport--all specialties related to achieving an active, healthy lifestyle. Its mission is to advance professional practice and promote research related to health and physical education, physical activity, dance and sport by providing its members with a comprehensive and coordinated array of resources, support and programs to help practitioners improve their skills to further the health and well-being of the American public. For more information, visit www.aahperd.org.